The company said it bought 4,799,848 shares of the Web-based travel information company from Barry Diller and the Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation at $62.50 a share - a substantial premium to yesterday's close at $38.39. The total transaction has a value of $300 million.

Under terms of the deal, Diller is stepping down as Chairman of TripAdvisor. After the transaction, Liberty owns 18,159,752 common shares and 12,799,999 Class B common shares, which gives the company 22% equity control and 57% voting control. Liberty said the shares are being "attributed" to the Liberty Ventures tracking stock.

Diller said in a statement that his only reason for selling his stake and stepping down as Chairman is that he has "more obligations than time." Adds Diller: "Transferring control of TripAdvisor to Liberty is something I'm very comfortable with – Liberty has proven itself a fine steward and leader of its controlled businesses.”